The New Peoria ABA (minor league) Team

[AB99]

They now have a web site:

http://www.prairiebasketball.com/home.html

They have a coach:

http://www.prairiebasketball.com/coachmcclain.html

(do you think he could have dressed for the photo?)

They have an ABA All Star game:

http://www.prairiebasketball.com/abaallstargame.html

(this past season's All Star MVP was Armon Gilliam, 13 year NBA veteran who is 42 years old!)

They have tryouts:

http://www.prairiebasketball.com/home.html

(tryouts in Champaign)

The team owners are from Champaign:

http://www.prairiebasketball.com/images/CENTRAL_ILLINOIS_Release_01_021306_1_.pdf

[PeoriaLou]

(this past season's All Star MVP was Armon Gilliam, 13 year NBA veteran who is 42 years old!)

[MacabreMob]

Re: The New Peoria ABA (minor league) Team

They have a coach:
(do you think he could have dressed for the photo?)

They have tryouts:
(tryouts in Champaign)

The team owners are from Champaign

Coach must be displaying his 'fine class'.

Tryouts in C/U and owners in C/U... just move the team to C/U. The arena is larger down there anyway.

[Bravesguy]

My guess is that they will play in Peoria because there is a larger fan base. Surely they wouldn't expect the Illinois students to have interest, they'd be looking for that same crowd that goes to BU games and high school games.
If they inted to get and maintain any local interest, they have to get some players with local ties.
Let me suggest Boogie, Tony Bennett, maybe even see if you could lure a popular player like Brandyn Heemskerk.

[MacabreMob]

My guess is that they will play in Peoria because there is a larger fan base. Surely they wouldn't expect the Illinois students to have interest, they'd be looking for that same crowd that goes to BU games and high school games.
If they inted to get and maintain any local interest, they have to get some players with local ties.
Let me suggest Boogie, Tony Bennett, maybe even see if you could lure a popular player like Brandyn Heemskerk.

I agree with what you are saying.

I am suggesting similar, but make it the C/U team. They have ex-Illini as coach. C/U people own the team. Tryouts are in C/U. I say move the team to C/U. Put a bunch of ex-Illini players on the team. They get 16000 for Illini games, surely they could get 1/2 that for alumni.

But if they want a team in Peoria and expect to get a decent fan base, they are gonna need to make it more Peoria (than just having ex-Manual player as coach). Get some ex-players from Bradley (like you suggest).

Hey - I'd go to see some of the players you mentioned. Along with some other ex-Bradley players from recent years.

But I wouldn't waste my time or money to even go across the back alley to watch a bunch of ex-BCS players that didn't make it in the NBA.

[Mikovio]

I agree with what you are saying.

I am suggesting similar, but make it the C/U team. They have ex-Illini as coach. C/U people own the team. Tryouts are in C/U. I say move the team to C/U. Put a bunch of ex-Illini players on the team. They get 16000 for Illini games, surely they could get 1/2 that for alumni.

But if they want a team in Peoria and expect to get a decent fan base, they are gonna need to make it more Peoria (than just having ex-Manual player as coach). Get some ex-players from Bradley (like you suggest).

Hey - I'd go to see some of the players you mentioned. Along with some other ex-Bradley players from recent years.

But I wouldn't waste my time or money to even go across the back alley to watch a bunch of ex-BCS players that didn't make it in the NBA.

I agree MM. I would like to see this be a more distinctly Peoria operation, and I'll reserve judgment until the roster's made.

I doubt this franchise will last that long anyway. They play in the most unstable league in what probably amounts to being the most unstable minor league sport....

[patrick_o'brian]

ARMON GILLIAM ALL-STAR MVP? are these guys serious? I got Armon's autograph when he played with the Hawk with the sixers. This can't be a very strong league if a 42 year old washed up ball player is the best of the best. LOL! Anybody gonna go check it out? Sergio should be playing, not coaching. If Armon can do it he can. I agree with the class thing. Jeans and a polo with your hat backwards? Good look. NOT!

[Biff]

I agree on the look. Who are they trying to appeal to with the street-ball look? I would think they would want the middle-class basketball fan's money, and not just try to appeal to the teenagers and gang-bangers.

[tornado]

There's a notice in the PJ Star this morning again about tryouts for the Peoria ABA team.
You have to pay $100 in advance and $150 at the door in order to get entry and try out.
I guess this keeps a lot of the street talent off the court, but who knows, maybe they could have found a "diamond in the rough"?

[tornado]

Here's the list of players who made the first cut after tryouts for Peoria's ABA team. They are being invited back.

Bennie Blackmon (Prairie View A & M)
Carlon Butler (Urbana High, Parkland, Millikan)
Willie Coleman (Peoria Manual, DePaul)
Robert Davenport (Champaign Central)
Julian Gorens (Springfield High, Wabash Valley, Arkansas Tech, Atlanta Hawks)
Anton Hall (Chicago Manley, Kennedy King, Missouri (Kansas City)
Kareem Leggette (Lakeland College)
Howard Nathan (Peoria Manua, DePaul, Atlanta Hawks)
Ahmid Palmer (Peoria High, Central Florida, Minnesota-Crookston)
Anthony Richardson (Chicago Hirsch, Parkland College)
Tyler Ryan (Rock Island Alleman, St. Amrose, Sauk Valley)
Michael Stewart (Chicago King, Bradley)
Ivan Watson (Peoria Manual, Illinois Central College, Tarleton State)
Michael Young (Peoria Manual).

also, here's an article about the ABA.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/clippers/la-sp-aba26jul26,1,4639554.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-nba-clippe&ctrack=1&cset=true

There is one more final tryout, August 26, at Haussler Hall.



As had been said in an earlier thread---they'd better get a few players with some Peoria-interest if they plan to sell tickets.



Not good news for the ABA, their weekly Live-Talk has been suspended

http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3353461

[Da Coach]

I checked out that link. It is not the web site of the ABA, but rather a site that reports on all "Independent and minor league sports news". The way the re4lease was worded was like this--

Derrick Pearson, host of ABALIVETALK, announces the suspension of the weekly talk show on the leagues web site at www.abalive.com.....

Pearson wishes the American Basketball Association "every bit of success that it can have" and thanks the owners, coaches, players, staffs and fans of the league for the thousands of emails received. "The ABA has been a huge part of my life the past two years, and I have grown throughout my time with the league" said Pearson.

The emphasis on the phrase "every bit of success that it can have" is not mine, but is part of the release. It sounds like this guy, Derrick Pearson" is bailing out of a sinking ship. It is well known the ABA has a bunch of teams that have folded are are now floundering, but maybe the league is in trouble? It does not sound encouraging.

[tornado]

Nonetheless, the ABA is still announcing new franschises.
There will be a Quad Cities team.

http://www.abalive.com/news/releases/?newsid=2006073106001

http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3354447

They now have a total of 60 teams, including 3 in Canada, 3 in Mexico, and one in China.